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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24016744">Heavy Heart, Heavy Soul [PunkDragon]</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nochka_x_Solya/pseuds/Nochka_x_Solya'>Nochka_x_Solya</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters: Sword &amp; Shield | Pokemon Sword &amp; Shield Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Chairman Rose - Freeform, Dande - Freeform, Depression, Kibana - Freeform, M/M, Nezu - Freeform, PunkDragonShipping - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:02:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,906</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24016744</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nochka_x_Solya/pseuds/Nochka_x_Solya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Piers was a man that always sought to please others despite the consequences that may fall upon him as a result. Whether the consequences be negative or positive, Piers always took all the consequences on his own shoulders if only to merely appease everyone else before his own self. Facing the challenges of balancing multiple jobs whilst raising his little sister Marnie on his own, life certainly proved to be no easy task for Piers with all of life’s ups and downs. Especially not with him going through the depression that had resulted from the heavy weight of the many consequences he’s had to face at different points in life. But with a relationship that threatened to fall apart and the a deep depression that only proved to further weigh down his shoulders, could things ever get better for Galar’s most famous rockstar? Or would life prove to be to difficult of a task for the singer to handle and cause everything to fall apart?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kibana | Raihan/Nezu | Piers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="s1">Piers has always been an incredibly busy man; working multiple jobs nearly every day whilst raising his sister on his own and dealing with terrible depression to top it all off. The poor guy was over stressing himself every night just for the benefit of everyone else. Why? He could care less about his own life as long as what he did made everyone else happy in the long run; even if it came with negative consequences to his own health as a result. The sad truth about this however, is hardly anyone knows how much Piers is putting himself through for everyone else to be happy; even going as far as not telling everything to his boyfriend Raihan as to not worry Raihan. As of currently, it was late in the evening, around Mid-November or so. Tonight was yet another typical terrible rainstorm that the roof of Spikemuth failed to fully shield the town from. Piers was currently in his bedroom, sitting at his desk while having a writer’s block as he was trying his damn best to work on writing a new song. After all, he had an upcoming concert this weekend and he needed to write at least eight new songs by the time it was the night of the concert. Unfortunately for Piers, it was already Wednesday and he only had a single new song written. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Piers tapped his pen on his desk at a quickened pace whilst he tried his best to think of a new song, yet nothing came to mind no matter how much thought and effort he tried to put into writing a new song. As per usual, Piers sighed out in annoyance, putting his head down on his wooden desk with a small thudding sound. “Ugh. Why did I ‘ave ta get a writer’s block at now of all times... ‘specially with that concert comin’ up too...” Piers stayed there for a bit, not lifting his head up until he heard a small knock on his locked bedroom door. He could only assume it was either his little sister wanting a favor from him, or his boyfriend had let himself into the house for a surprise visit. Piers let out a groan in annoyance as he sat up just enough for his response to have been heard clearer. “Who’s there an’ what do ya want? I’m busy workin’ in ‘ere.” Piers glanced at his bedroom clock, seeing it was 10:30 pm as of the current moment, making it highly unlikely that his boyfriend would be visiting him now of all times. Yet when he heard the voice of the person at the door, he wasn’t all too surprised to hear it was Raihan. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As for why Raihan was here however, he was here mainly because of the fact that Piers never showed up for the date that they had planned for tonight. Raihan replied relatively calmly, wondering if Piers was really working at this late at night. “You’re still working at 10:30 in the evening? I thought you said you were taking the day off from work today to spend some time with me...” Piers grumbled a bit tiredly as he put his head back down on his desk. “I told ya I’d be busy all week, Rai. I’ve got a concert comin’ up on Saturday an’ I need to work on writin’ new songs for the concert. I told you that I’d take time off on Monday next week to spend the day with ya.” For a brief moment, that slightly confused Raihan. “Uh, Piers? You said you’d take Wednesday off this week to spend the day with me. We were supposed to go on a date at 7:30 pm tonight but you never showed up to the restaurant...”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That statement made Piers jolt a bit, sitting up immediately. He had completely forgotten about the date! This is just one of the many reasons why he’s so forgetful. He gets so caught up in his work that he forgets anything else he’s planned out for the week. “Shit, I forgot!” Piers got up from his desk, walking over to his bedroom door to unlock it then open the door, being now face to face with Raihan. To say the least, saying Raihan was worried when he saw how beyond tired Piers looked was a complete understatement. Raihan’s usual grin was no longer visible, instead being replaced with a rather worried frown. “You ok there, Piers? You look like you haven’t slept in days...” Raihan thought to himself, ‘Or weeks for that matter...’ Piers of course, only looked to the side while slightly rubbing his own left arm with his hand. “Eh, I didn’t get any sleep last night, but it’s fine...” That was a lie and Piers knew that very well. He’s gotten only three or four hours of sleep so far this week yet, he never tells Raihan that he has bad insomnia due to the fact that he didn’t want to worry Raihan any further. Raihan then gently put a hand on Piers’s shoulder. “If you say it’s only been one night that you haven’t slept, then I believe you. Just... Try to get some sleep tonight at least... I don’t want you to start getting sick from lack of sleep, Piers...”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Piers simply nodded in response, avoiding eye contact for a moment longer before it returned to being fixed on looking Raihan in the eyes. When Piers would feel Raihan then hug him, he flinched slightly but gently hugged his boyfriend back. “Mind if I stay a bit to at least to be here with you?...” Raihan was making sure to speak in a rather soft tone of voice, knowing it calms Piers when people speak to Piers in a soothing tone of voice such as this. Piers gently sighed but nodded a bit. “I s’ppose it would be alright to take a little break from work tonight...” Raihan smiled softly a bit as he gently hugged his boyfriend. “Alright then, Piers.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When Raihan had been granted permission to come into Piers’s room, to say the least, he was surprised to see how much of a mess Piers had allowed his room to become. Now normally, Piers <span class="u"><em><strong>HATES</strong></em></span> having even <span class="u"><em><strong>slight</strong></em></span> disorganization. So the fact that Piers’s room was this messy really shows how much Piers has been focusing on his work, rather than other stuff. This of course, raised more concern from Raihan. Mainly because of the fact that if Piers was slacking off on organizing his room, who knows what else Piers could be slacking off on? Raihan was also as of currently, debating on whether or not he should mention the full extent if his concern for Piers. For now, he dismissed the thought and just went sat down on Piers’s bed, facing towards Piers’s desk. Piers was trying his best to hide the amounts of stress he was currently going through, not wanting to worry Raihan. After all, if Raihan found out how stressed Piers really was, who knows what Raihan would do. Piers just let out a soft sigh as he got on his bed, laying beside where Raihan was seated. Maybe Raihan was right. Maybe he did need a small break to get his life together. But considering how much work Piers had to do, that suggestion only seemed like nothing more than an impossible to accomplish dream.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Raihan glanced over at Piers’s desk as he felt the bed shift slightly from Piers laying beside him, noticing all the crumpled up papers that were strewn both on the floor around the desk; and on the desk itself. It looked as though Piers had at least made some sort of effort to toss the crumpled up papers into the waste bin, but had missed in the process without bothering to pick anything he missed up. Raihan’s concern for Piers only grew as time went on though. He could see that Piers had been quite frustrated a out working on writing new songs, based on the fact there were a few snapped pens on the desk and that there were so many crumpled up papers. But when Raihan’s worry was reaching a new point of worry for his boyfriend, he spoke up a bit. “I know you don’t really like discussing what goes on in here when you’re working on your songs, but to me, it looks like this song writing stuff is putting far too much stress on you, Piers. I know you’re probably going to refuse to listen to me about this, but, I think maybe you should consider taking longer than just a little break from work. I know in your mind, a little break is only considered a few hours, but I think you should take at least maybe three or four weeks of from your music and just try to relax; maybe even go on a small vacation just to get away from it all for a bit...”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Of course, Raihan received nothing but silence from Piers at first. Raihan figured that what he said must have upset Piers or something. Though, when he looked over at Piers, he saw Piers simply had his usual apathetic expression, to which only further worried Raihan. “Piers, are you alri-“ Raihan would have finished his sentence, were it not for being interrupted by Piers jolting imto am upright seated position, briefly followed by Piers’s temper suddenly snapping. “I’m fuckin’ fine, Rai! Ya don’t have to worry about me <span class="u"><em><strong>every</strong></em></span> five fuckin’ minutes!” Those words Piers spoke were almost as if they were filled to the brim with a lethal poison. The tone Piers spoke in was so full of hatred and sudden anger, that it genuinely caught Raihan off guard. Sure, Raihan knew that Piers’s temper had a tendency of snapping whenever Piers got too overstressed, but by far, this was the worst that Piers’s temper had ever snapped. Raihan faced towards Piers, putting his hands up in front of him as if in defense. “Calm down, Piers. It was only a suggestion, I swear. You don’t need to get angry over a sugges-“ And wouldn’t you know it? Raihan got interrupted once again by Piers.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“YA, WELL, YA SHOULD’VE KNOWN TO <span class="u"><em><strong>NEVER</strong></em></span> SUGGEST THAT TO ME! YA KNOW VERY WELL THAT I CAN’T JUST TAKE A FUCKIN’ BREAK FROM MY MUSIC CAREER! MY FANS WOULD GO FUCKIN’ LIVID IF I DID THAT! JUST STAY OUTTA MY FUCKIN’ BUSINESS, RAI! NOW GET OUTTA MY FUCKIN’ HOUSE BEFORE YA MAKE ANOTHER FUCKIN’ SUGGESTION FOR ME! I DON’T HAVE FUCKIN’ TIME TO WASTE ON LISTENIN’ TO YA MAKIN’ ANOTHER <span class="u"><em><strong>USELESS</strong></em></span> SUGGESTION!” Those spoken, well rather yelled, words were filled to the brim with even more hate than what Piers had last said. To say that those words weren’t hurtful to Raihan would be a complete and utter lie. Raihan got up from where he was seated on the bed, walking over to Piers’s bedroom door. He glanced back at Piers, speaking one more time after looking down by his feet. “I’m only trying to help you, Piers... I care about you and I only want what’s best for you... And I certainly don’t like seeing you get angry like this, Piers. It just really scares me how much your anger outbursts have been getting more and more frequent as of late, Piers. If you need me, I’lll be at my Gym in Hammerlocke. If you ever need me, just call me or text me then...” After having said that, Raihan left the room, walking towards the front door then left to head back to Hammerlocke. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Raihan really didn’t like having to deal with Piers’s anger, but he knew it was only because of stress, nothing else; right? If only he knew the true extents of how much stress Piers was under. If Piers allowed him to, Raihan would have gladly helped Piers with anything Piers needed. But he knew that was mot an option. Not at all at this point. He can’t even suggest anything to Piers without facing being yelled at by Piers, so what would make him believe he had even any chance to get Piers to let him help him. Piers huffed a bit out of pure anger after he heard the front door close from Raihan leaving. He sighed in annoyance, resting his forehead against the palm of his hand. It’s not like this was the first time that Piers and Raihan had argued. Raihan just chose bad times to speak with Piers. Piers did love Raihan, yes. He loved Raihan more than anything else in this damn world, but there are just times when Piers ends up saying stuff that he didn’t necessarily mean. Piers just hoped he didn’t screw up too badly this time...</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">By the time Piers calmed down almost fully, he couldn’t help but feel guilt for yelling at Raihan. He knew Raihan only meant well, Raihan having not deserved to be yelled at.He sighed as he laid back down on his bed, feeling annoyed at himself. How could he screw up so fucking badly? Surely, Raihan must hate him for all the times he’s lost his temper towards Raihan; but there were also times when Raihan’s lost his temper towards him as well. And those times were NEVER pleasant at all. While Raihan is usually kind and a complete sweetheart, seeing Raihan angry is something no one should ever witness. It’s even worse if you’re the one who angered him in the first place and Piers knew that very well. The last argument him and Raihan had had last week had ended with Piers getting a harsh slap to the face, followed by profuse apologies from Raihan when Raihan had realized what he had done. Raihan’s just lucky that Piers is able to cover the bruise he has on his cheek with some makeup. After all, it would look honestly terrible on Raihan’s behalf if people saw a bad bruise on Piers’s face from a slap mark. Especially since people knew that as of late, Piers and Raihan’s relationship has been rather rocky. So, seeing a bruise on Piers’s face would only be all the more suspicious; likely making people suspect that Raihan was to blame.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Raihan was currently headed to Hammerlocke, having had his Flygon fly him to his Gym, due to being flown by Flygon being faster than by taking a Flying Taxi. When Raihan got to his Gym and got off of Flygon’s back, he of course thanked Flygon for flying him back to his Gym, returning Flygon to it’s Ultra Ball shortly afterwards. After walking into the Gym, he was surprised to see there weren’t a bunch of trainers there waiting to battle Raihan for the fun of it. Instead, it was rather quiet and calm for once. Though, even if trainers had shown up, Raihan likely would have dismissed them, simply not being in the mood to battle after having just been yelled at by Piers. He then started heading towards his private locker room, hoping to be able to at least get some peace and quiet in there. But before he could go into his locker room, he heard a familiar voice speak to him from behind him; it was Leon. Of course, Leon had to be the one to stop by of all times. Leon had only come by Raihan’s Gym for the mere purposes of wishing to challenge Raihan to an unofficial battle. Mainly as a test to see if Raihan’s gotten stronger and to see how much more Leon would have to train for next year’s Championships Tournament as well as next year’s Prerequisites Battle. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Leon was a little oblivious to the fact that Raihan wasn’t in the best mood right now. Then again, he couldn’t see Raihan’s facial expression, so, it’s not like he could tell that Raihan was upset. “Heya Raihan! Are you ready for our monthly unofficial battle??” Yes, Leon really did challenge Raihan to an unofficial battle every single month. Well, except for during the Trainer Challenges. When Leon didn’t get an answer at first, he was a little confused, tilting his head slightly in confusion. “Raihan? What’s the matter? You seem quieter than usual...” Raihan simply sighed softly. “Listen, Leon. I’m... I’m not in the mood to battle right now... I got yelled at by Piers today, and I really don’t feel up to battling today. Maybe tomorrow... Also, how come you came to my Gym so late? It’s almost an hour until midnight...” Leon of course, felt bad for his rival / friend. He was one of the people who knew about how rocky Piers and Raihan’s relationship has been getting as of late, and it honestly worried Leon for both his friend Raihan, and his friend Piers. As for why Leon was here so late, he somehow hadn’t fully realized how late it actually was. “I’m sorry that that happened, Raihan... Hopefully, your relationship with Piers’ll get better. If not, there are always other people you could date...” While Leon wasn’t exactly the best at comforting people, he at least tried his best to provide at least a little comfort to his friends when they needed it most.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Raihan quietly stared down at the ground for a moment, soon speaking quietly and a bit tiredly. “I know there are other people out there that I could date, but the thing is, I still really love Piers... I know he’s been under a lot of stress lately which has been causing him to lash out, but, I don’t want to break up with him just because he’s lashing out from stress...” “But Raihan, even if these lash-outs are just caused by stress, if he’s getting this angry, it’d be best to break up with him now before he starts to turn to using physical violence. I... I just don’t want to see you get hurt by him, Raihan...”Raihan paused for a moment, mumbling something under his breath. Leon of course, heard Raihan mumble something, but couldn’t tell exactly what it is that Raihan had mumbled. “What was that, Raihan?” Raihan turned around to face towards Leon, yet shifted his gaze away from the Champion. “I said there’s already been a few times where there’s been physical violence between me and Piers... It wasn’t much, except for a few slaps and punches, but that’s really the furthest it’s ever went...” That statement of course, gave Leon even more concern. “Then why don’t you just leave him if things are getting violent?... You don’t like the violence, do you?...”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Raihan let out an irritated huff as he crossed his arms. “Of course I don’t like the violence! Why would I?! I just... I just want me and Piers’s relationship to go back to the way it was, but it doesn’t appear that Piers feels the same way... Maybe Piers just needs some time to clear his head... He still loves me, I know he does... Things just are a bit rocky now... But they’ll get better, I know they will. After all, Piers wouldn’t just ruin our two and a half year long relationship for nothing, right?...” “But you don’t know that for sure, Raihan. Just... Give it some thought, alright, Raihan?” Raihan just nodded softly. “Alright then, Leon. Though, you should probably head home. It is pretty late out after all.” Leon gave Raihan a small yet concerned smile and nodded a bit. “Alright, Raihan. Have a good night’s rest...” And after having said that, Leon headed over to the Gym doors to go leave. Now, Raihan was really the only one left at his Gym.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Raihan sighed a little as he went into his personal locker room, turning the lights on then proceeded to go sit down on one of the benches. Maybe Leon was right... Was Raihan and Piers’s relationship really getting that rocky? It was starting to seem that way. Yet something made Raihan want to stay with Piers, no matter what happens. But at the same time, a part of him couldn’t help but feel like maybe Leon was right about this. Maybe him and Piers just needed a small break together and could get back together at a later point in time once everything’s calmed down between him and Piers. But he also had to take into consideration the fact that asking Piers if they could have a small break from each other may just make everything get worse between them. Raihan didn’t know what to do. Raihan couldn’t help but do a small groan from uncertainty about what it is he should do. The more Piers thought about what had just happened between him and Raihan, the more hatred he started feeling towards himself; feeling copious amounts of guilt about what he had said to Raihan. He groaned a bit as he switched laying positions, laying on his stomach now and burying his face in one of his pillows. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">For a while, Piers just laid there. He knew he had to get back to working on his songs, but now that he felt more weight added to his shoulders, he didn’t know how long it would be until he could no longer handle the weight he felt on his shoulders though. To say the least, his mind was distracted quite a lot, actually. But all he knew was that Marnie and Raihan were the only real people that were giving him a genuine reason to keep going through these tough times. Those two people meant absolutely everything to Piers. If he lost them, he knew very well thathe wouldn’t be able to keep going on at all. What was he to do? His boyfriend likely hated him now, his little sister probably was saddened from having to hear Piers and Raihan argue so frequently, and people probably thought poorly of him, or so he thought. Times like these are when Piers was always the most vulnerable for his mind to become clouded with dark thoughts. Of course, he’s never told Raihan about these thoughts he would get, but the only reason he kept quiet about it was because of the fact that he didn’t want to worry Raihan or his sister with his own issues. And to say the least, it certainly was not long until he could feel the dark thoughts already beginning to invade his mind.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He slowly sat up, the dark thoughts clouding his mind. He tried to ignore the thoughts, but failed to do so as the overwhelming sadness overflowed in his mind. And before he even realized it, tears had begun to fall down his cheeks at a relatively quick pace. His hands felt shaky as he reached over to his nightstand, taking a hidden blood stained pocket knife out of the drawer, proceeding to sit back up afterwards. He pushed the sleeve of his jacket up, exposing the skin of his arm as he clutched the knife firmly in his hand. The darkened thoughts only further filled his mind as he pressed the blade to his skin, his tears falling faster as he made a swift dragging motion towards himself while applying light pressure. The blade was rather dull, and because of the fact he wasn’t putting full pressure on it, the cut he made was not as deep as it would have been, had the blade been sharper. His crying turned to choked out sobs as he spoke to himself. “I’m so f-fuckin’ stupid...” And with that statement, another cut on that same arm followed. “All I do is screw up everything I do...” And another. The more that these thoughts filled his mind, the more cuts added up on his arm. Each cut causing a slight burning feeling, followed by a small tingling feeling that only temporarily numbed a part of the emotional pain he felt. He knew very well that his arm was going to be sore and sensitive for at least a few days after this; though, he could care less. However, had he been paying more attention, he would have realized that he had forgotten to lock his bedroom door; which he typically locks it anytime he’s cutting.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Marnie had been peacefully sleeping in her room that just so happened to be right next to Piers’s bedroom. Unfortunately, her peaceful slumber had been interrupted by the sound of faint cries coming from Piers’s bedroom. Being only ten, Marnie was still rather shy and quiet about a lot of things. Yet, she still felt worry and concern for her brother’s wellbeing. She knew he was very saddened by something as of late, though she was unsure of that was saddening her brother. So of course, Marnie went to go see if her brother was ok. She sat up in her bed, pushing the blankets off of herself then getting up. If her brother was sad, maybe she could cheer him up a bit; or so she thought she could, anyways. Marnie wondered why Piers was sad as she left her room, going and knocking on Piers’s bedroom door. “Piers? Are you ok?” Of course, there was no response from Piers, which only further worried her. Piers wasn’t even paying attention to any noises around him as his mind only further darkened. But after having not received an answer, Marnie tried to open the door. To her surprise, the door was unlocked. Though, she couldn’t help but freeze when she saw what Piers had been doing; feeling tears form in her eyes as she stared at Piers. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She couldn’t help but tremble as she stared at her brother that hadn’t even noticed she was there. “P-Piers?... W-Why are you hurting yourself?...” While that may not have been necessarily the best thing to ask Piers, there was nothing else she could think of to say to Piers. She was worried beyond words at this point. At first, Piers hadn’t noticed she was there, nor had he heard his bedroom door open. But you can bet it startled him when he heard Marnie speak. He froze, stopping what he had been doing as his tears continued to fall. His hand trembled as he set his pocket knife down. “Just...Just don’t worry ‘bout it, sis’. I’m...I’m fine...” Marnie however, was not convinced that Piers was as fine as he claimed to be. A look of worry could be seen in her eyes as she stared at her older brother. “Please don’t lie and say you’re fine, you’re clearly not fine...” Piers at this point, could no longer maintain eye contact with his own sister right now. He felt bad enough before, but now that his sister has seen one of the things he does in his room on an almost nightly basis, he only felt worse about himself now. After all, in his mind, he felt like his sister thought poorly of him now, even though that was not the case. But what was he supposed to do? Tell her the truth about how miserable he’s been as of late? Or lie to her to make her be less worried? Truth be told, he didn’t know what to do now.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As Piers sat there, thinking of how he could even slightly respond to Marnie, he ultimately just ended up starting crying harder than he had originally been crying. Perhaps it was out of frustration of not knowing how to respond? Or it could have also possibly been because of the fact that during this conversation, his mind had been clouded with more dark thoughts. When Marnie saw Piers just start crying harder, that of course, obviously worried her more than what words could describe. She went over to Piers, wanting to give him a hug. However, out of instinct, when Marnie got too close, Piers did something he hadn’t meant to do. He had shoved Marnie away, causing her to stumble back and fall onto the floor; resulting in her hitting her head on the wall slightly. Thankfully, she was relatively fine and hadn’t been knocked unconscious, but that did not stop her eyes from tearing up from the pain of hitting her head. She couldn’t help but look at Piers with a look of shock as tears began rolling down her cheeks. The look in her eyes was enough for Piers to tell that Marnie felt scared and betrayed about the fact that he had shoved her away. And when Piers saw Marnie get up and run out of the room, crying, Piers swears he felt his heart just...shatter...</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He hadn’t meant to hurt her and he felt incredibly guilty for doing so. Marnie was the only living relative that Piers had left, yet he had just shoved her as if she had meant nothing to him and made her cry in the process. And considering what he had already been going through when she had walked in on him, you could bet this only made him feel a hell of a lot worse about himself.After all, it was his own fault that Marnie just ran out of the room, crying. And chances are, he knew she likely would not accept an apology for at least a few weeks. Even worse, what would Team Yell think of their Captain if they found out that their Captain made Spikemuth’s ‘Princess’ cry? Surely, that would make Team Yell think poorly of their Captain, right? A lot of thoughts were continuously running through Piers’s mind as well as what could possibly end up resulting from him pushing Marnie. And here he was, thinking of if this night was going to get any worse, or if tomorrow would at least be a little better. Now he was debating on whether he should sleep, or go back to working on his music. It turns out that music took top priority, so, Piers got up, ignoring his slightly bleeding arm as he went back over to his desk and sat in his chair; trying to work on his music some more.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As for Leon, as Leon was walking to the house he had in Wyndon, he couldn’t help but think about how rocky Piers and Raihan’s relationship was. He hated the fact that Piers and Raihan’s relationship had even gotten violent. Why won’t Raihan just break up with Piers already? So many thoughts played through Leon’s mind. But, why was he thinking this way? Shouldn’t he be trying to help his friends through this? Or did he care more about Raihan than he did Piers? He didn’t know. Something about it just really ticked him off though. However, during the time he’s been lost in thought about how he felt Raihan deserved better than Piers, he hadn’t been paying any actual attention to where he had been walking. When he stopped to see where he even was, he saw he was in the middle of the Wild Area. Though, he wasn’t all too surprised. He had a tendency of getting lost, so this wasn’t anything new. Since it was late, he just decided to spend the night at the Wild Area, being rather tired. The tiredness however, did not mean he’d be falling asleep right away. No, he had far too much on his mind to be able to sleep. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When Leon was soon laying on the ground, as he laid there, he tried to think of ways he could help end the rocky relationship between Piers and Raihan faster. Then he got an idea; a cruel one at that. If Raihan and Piers weren’t ending the relationship on their own terms, then why can’t Leon do that for them? It’s such a pure shame that Leon remembered the password of Piers’s main social media from the one time he saw Piers type the password in. So, he downloaded that social media app on his Rotom Phone, logging into Piers’s account. He knew very well that this app also happened to be one of Raihan’s main social media apps as well. He then decided to look through Piers’s messages on the app as well while he was on Piers’s account. And to say the least, he did find some blackmail worthy things in some private messages that Piers had with a few other people. So, he screenshotted them just in case he would need them later. Now, all that would be left was to message Raihan in the private messages section. Of course, he read through Piers’s and Raihan’s text conversation first, seeing that there were countless arguments in the texts, but to his surprise, he saw there was a message Piers had left in the text box, yet hadn’t sent yet. So of course, he read the text. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">To say the least, it wasn’t a very long text. Maybe just a few sentences; but reading those few sentences made Leon question if this was even a smart idea to do as he read those few sentences. &gt;&gt;I’m sorry if I’ve been such an asshole to ya lately, Rai. Ya know I still love ya more than anythin’ else in this world, right? Which is why, I don’t want to be a burden to you anymore. I’m sorry for what I plan on doing tonight, Rai. I love ya, Rai, but this is goodbye fer forever...&lt;&lt; As Leon read those words, he felt his eyes tear up a bit. He could tell that almost seemed as if it were a small suicide note. Though, according to the text box, that message was last edited last week. It must have been a text from after that physical fight Piers and Raihan had gotten in. Yet, Piers had never sent it. Leon just sighed softly, deleting the text and began typing a new text to send to Raihan via Piers’s social media account. Leon knew how to text the way Piers did as well, after all, he’s seen Piers type before and had read those texts, so, he knew how to pretend like it was Piers typing. </span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">&gt;&gt;I know ya have been really hopin’ that our relationship could work out again someday an’ that ya don’t want us ta break up, but... I think it’s time we started thinkin’ ‘bout seein’ other people, Rai. This relationship just isn’t workin’ out anymore an’ it’s only weighin’ us both down from continuin’ on wit’ our lives an’ it’s keepin’ us both from bein’ happy. Plus, wit’ my music career, I just don’t have time ta have a committed relationship an’ well, I’m interested in other people, Rai. So, what I’m tryin’ ta say is that I’m breakin’ up wit’ ya, Rai. Don’t take this too personally, a’ight? This is just what’s best fer both of us an’ I know ya know that very well. We just weren’t meant ta be together, Rai...&lt;&lt; Leon then sent the text, knowing Raihan would likely see this text soon. Leon knew this had to be done. It was for the benefit of both of his friends, right? Or was it only out of his own jealously of the fact Raihan still loved Piers even after Piers had hit Raihan a few times as well as Raihan hitting Piers a few times? Now all he had to do was wait for Raihan to see the text.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Raihan had been just laying on a bench in his private locker room, bored, tired, and overall unable to sleep. He was just on his phone, scrolling through his social medias as he noticed he had a new message from Piers on one of his social medias. So, he opened the message, thinking it may be an apology from Piers for Piers yelling at him earlier that night. His hope for an apology was crushed when he saw the supposed breakup text. His heart ached from just reading that text. Did Piers really not love him anymore? Apparently not. It hurt his heart just at the thought of not being in a relationship with Piers anymore. He still loved Piers more than words could describe. He knew Piers was the one meant for him. Sure, their life together had it’s ups and downs, but nonetheless, Raihan still loved Piers more than words could describe. It wasn’t long before he felt tears rolling down his cheeks as he texted a response. &gt;&gt;Are you really sure that this is what you want, Piers? I know things have been rough lately, but we can make things work out if you just give me a chance! Please, Piers... You’re the only person I’ll ever love. I don’t want anyone else. I only want you. I want to be happy with you. You’re the love of my life and I don’t know what I’d do without you. I don’t care how many times you yell at me or how many times you hit me out of anger or just stress. You’re the only one I want to be with. So please, just give me one more chance to prove I still love you...&lt;&lt; After having typed that, he sent the message, silently hoping that Piers would give him one more chance.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When Leon saw Raihan was already replying this fast, he let out a soft sigh as he thought of what to respond with. Perhaps he could take this chance to test the extent of Raihan’s loyalty to Piers by seeing just how far Raihan would be willing to go for Piers. &gt;&gt;If ya really want ta have just one more chance, prove to me that ya really mean what ya say ‘bout lovin’ me. It’s just that sometimes, I feel like ya don’t really mean what ya say when ya tell me ya love me, y’know?... It... Just doesn’t feel the same way it felt the first time ya told me that ya loved me... It’s like it’s just lost that spark... Like it’s just lost the passion it once held an’ seems like it’s nothin’ more than meanin’less words, Rai. But if ya say ya really do still love me, show me how much ya love me then. If ya loved me, ya would let me go an’ ya would go be happy wit’ someone else. It just doesn’t feel special ta me anymore, Rai...&lt;&lt; Leon sent the message, now just patiently waiting for a response from Raihan. And when Raihan saw that text, you can bet his heart felt completely shattered now that he had read what was supposedly typed by Piers. But he couldn’t give up. No, he had to show Piers he still cared. He just had to. But how was he supposed to prove he still loved Piers? He’d do just about anything to prove to Piers that he still loved him</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After having given it some thought, Raihan finally replied once more. &gt;&gt;Piers, you know I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to you that I’m still worthy of being with you. If you’re still jealous about me having more followers than you on all of our social medias, I’ll... I’ll delete my social medias for you, Piers... I... I just want to be happy with you again, sweetheart... Don’t you miss the nights when we’d just lay outside under the stars and cuddle?... Don’t you miss all the adventures we’ve been on together and all the places we traveled to together? Just... Just name your price about what you want in exchange for me having one more chance to be able to possibly be happy with you again. It can be anything at all, I swear.&lt;&lt; Raihan’s tears only continue to fall down his cheeks as he sent that text. While his social medias were highly cherished to him, if Piers wanted Raihan to quit social media just to make Piers happy, then so be it. He’d really do anything for Piers, even if... even if Piers told him to harm himself, he would do it just to prove to Piers he loved him. He wanted nothing more than to be a dedicated lover to Piers...</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Of course, it really surprised Leon to see that Raihan offered to go as far as deleting all his social medias just to make Piers happy. Leon knew he should have felt bad that Raihan was willing to give everything up just for Piers, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a twisted grin sneak it’s way onto his face as he replied to Raihan once more. But he knew he could take this chance to finally get his rival out of his way on social media at least. You see, out of everyone in Galar, Raihan, Piers, and Leon had the most social media followers. Raihan and Leon were having a competition to see who could get the most followers, and this could be Leon’s only chance to get Raihan out of the competition. &gt;&gt;A’ight then. If ya really love me that much, delete all of yer social medias ‘cept fer this one fer now. No more talkin’ to yer fans either. An’ no more askin’ yer fans fer selfies. I don’t like how some of them eye you, Rai. An’ if yer really as dedicated ta me as ya claim ta be an’ really want no one else ‘cept fer me... cut my name into yer arm with a knife. Make the cut be deep enough that it leaves a permanent visible scar in yer arm. I want people ta see that yer mine an’ no one else’s. If ya can’t bring yerself ta cut my name into yer arm, then yer not as in love wit’ me as ya think.&lt;&lt; Of course, Leon thought for sure that Raihan would chicken out on this. After all, he knew Raihan actually had a relatively low pain tolerance, so cutting wouldn’t be anything painless for Raihan. So, it’s not like Raihan would actually go through with this, right? Leon thought that surely, that message would be enough to turn Raihan away from wanting to stay with Piers. But he had no idea about how dedicated Raihan truly was.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As for Piers, while his phone was getting notifications that there were new messages from Raihan, he didn’t feel like particularly checking his texts right now. He could do that in the morning. He was too focused on trying to think of new songs to write as he was tapping a pen on the desk in frustration of being unable to think of anything to write. When Raihan saw that message however, especially that last part of the message, he froze a bit. Piers...wanted him to cut Piers’s name into his arm?... The thought of harming himself was enough to make Raihan start trembling a bit. He could delete his social medias, yes, but carving Piers’s name deep into his arm? Not only would that incredibly hurt, but it’d be a lifelong scar that everyone who sees Raihan’s arms would be able to see the scar. But... if that’s what it would take to prove to Piers that Raihan was a loyal lover... Then so be it... Though, Raihan sent one last text first. &gt;&gt;If that’s what it’ll take to prove to you that I’m loyal, then...so be it... I’lll carve your name into my arm, Piers. I’ll do it just to prove to you that I’m loyal to you and you alone, Piers. I love you, my sweet little rockstar. If... there’s ever anything else you want me to do for you, just name it and I’ll do it for you, Piers. Have a good night and please try to get some sleep tonight. I know you’re over stressed about being behind on writing songs for Saturday’s concert, but, I think a full night of sleep will really do you some good, alright? And maybe after the concert, I’ll take you to your favorite restaurant if you’re willing to go out on a date with me, that is. Goodnight, Piers.&lt;&lt; After having sent that text, Raihan turned his phone off for the night. Though, when Leon saw Raihan was really going to go through with carving Piers’s name into his arm, he just hoped that Raihan doesn’t actually go through with it and chickens out. Why does he hope Raihan backs out of carving Piers’s name into his arm? Because now, Leon had slight regrets of what he just said to Raihan....</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Well rather, Raihan had been about to turn his phone off. He still had to delete his social medias first. Raihan of course, was still rather shocked by the fact that Piers wanted him to go as far as carving Piers’s name into his arm just to prove his loyalty to Piers. Though of course, if that’s what Piers wanted, then that’s what he would do. Of course first, he would delete all his social medias except that one for now. It pained him to even consider deleting his social medias, but he had to do this for Piers. He had to prove he was loyal to Piers and Piers alone. His tears of course, weren’t stopping anytime soon as he one by one opened his beloved social medias, and one by one deleted the accounts of his beloved social medias that each had well over a million followers. But this was all for Piers. Once the task of deleting all but one social media was done, now he turned his phone fully off for the night. To say the least, he was incredibly saddened that all his hard work of earning all those followers was basically gone, but this was worth it, right? Yes, it was. It had to be worth it. Piers wouldn’t have told him to do that if Piers hadn’t had good reason for it. After all, Piers wouldn’t just make Raihan suffer through that for no reason, right? But now, only one thing was left to do.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Raihan sat up, getting up off the bench he had been laying on then walked towards the exit of his locker room and Gym. He was now heading to his house to do the last thing he had agreed to do. The walk to his house was rather short, seeing as he lived quite close to his Gym. But upon getting there, he felt slight doubt about if he was doing the right thing or not. But then again, if he didn’t do this, he wouldn’t ever get another chance to date Piers... His hand trembled as he took out his house keys, unlocking the front door and going into his house, closing the door behind him. He tossed his keys onto the desk like table he had by the door, as well as putting his jacket on the coat rack then went to his bathroom to grab some gauze bandages. After all, if he was going to carve Piers’s name into his arm, he would need to bandage it afterwards so that his arm wouldn’t be as likely to get infected. After having grabbed the gauze bandages, he went to his kitchen, looking for a knife that would be most suitable for this. Once he found the knife he planned on using to carve Piers’s name inti his arm, he grabbed it then went and sat down in a chair at the kitchen table after putting some paper towels down on the kitchen table just in case the blood dripped. He set the gauze bandages and the knife down on the table for a moment to pull his sleeve up, hesitantly pulling his sleeve up.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Was he really going to do this? Yes, yes he was. If you thought his hand wasn’t trembling as he picked that knife up, you’d be wrong. You see, he’s never cut or deliberately harmed himself before, so he didn’t exactly know what this was going to feel like or exactly how painful this would be. As he brought the blade of the knife close to his skin, his trembling only worsened. He closed his eyes as he pressed down on the knife until he could feel the blade dig into his skin, wincing at the pain that followed from the blade piercing his skin. He opened his eyes a little, trembling as he looked down at the knife that’s blade was dug into his skin. Staring down at his arm, staring at the blood that was leaking down his arm. He was starting to about if this was a good idea or not, coming to the conclusion that it was if it was for Piers. He couldn’t help but let out small sobs of pain as he cut his arm, carving his boyfriend’s name into his arm. To say the least, it stung and his arm had a burning feeling to it now.The knife practically fell out of his hand once he was done carving his boyfriend’s name into his skin. Hearing the knife fall onto the floor, his tears continued to fall as he gently and shakily grabbed the gauze bandages, looking at the name carved deep in his arm one more time then began to bandage up his arm. And by the time it was fully bandaged, he just wanted to go to bed.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Raihan’s shaking refused to end as he got up from his seat, cleaning up any mess he made then he headed to his bedroom. He was tired now, wanting nothing more than to sleep the pain he felt away. Though, he knew the pain would last for a few days at the bare minimum. He sniffled a bit from the pain as he walked over to his bed, moving the sheets and blankets, stripping down to his underwear since he only slept in his underwear most of the time, getting in bed, then pulling the sheets and blankets over top of him. His tears only kept falling as he laid there, his arm still having that uncomfortable stinging pain as his tears continued to fall. His eyes began to feel quite heavy as the tiredness was really beginning to sink in. And before he could fall asleep, he just spoke to himself quietly a bit. “I-I love you Piers... I-I hope you’re happy now that I did what you told me to do...” After having said that, Raihan practically passed lut from exhaustion. As for Leon, Leon was still awake in the Wild Area. The guilt from what he texted Raihan felt like it was slowly eating him alive. He was starting to feel incredibly bad for what he had told Raihan. But now, there was nothing he could do about it as he laid there, staring up at the night sky. He just hoped that hadn’t caused too much damage now to Piers and Raihan’s relationship now...</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The next morning, when Raihan woke up, his arm still stung, of course. Even with the bandages, it still was quite sensitive to even slight touches. He couldn’t help but wince slightly as he sat up in bed, lightly holding his bandaged arm in his other hand. To say the least, he hoped the pain would subside sometime soon, mainly because he didn’t want to have to feel pain for more than a few days. Though, he hoped that now that he did what supposedly Piers had been the one who told him to do, he hoped that maybe now, his and Piers’s relationship could finally go back to normal. He reached over to his phone that was on his nightstand, opening the one social media he had left snd decided to message Piers. &gt;&gt;Did you get any sleep last night, sweetheart? I... I did what you told me to do, Piers... I did it to prove to you that I’m as loyal as I said I was and to prove I really love you... Was... Was it enough to prove to you that I’m a loyal boyfriend?... Or do I still need to do more?...&lt;&lt; Raihan hoped that what he had done last night was enough to prove his loyalty to Piers. After all, what more did he have left to give up for Piers to prove his loyalty? He already gave up his social medias and carved Piers’s name deep in his arm, what more could Piers possibly want from him?...</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Piers as of currently, was asleep at his desk with his head rested on his arms. He had fallen asleep during work from pure exhaustion. So unfortunately, he was unaware that Raihan just texted him. Of course, Leon was awake though. And since he was still logged into Piers’s social media, he got the notification that there was a reply from Raihan. So,he opened the message, reading the text that Raihan had replied with. Though, as shocked as he was about the fact that Raihan claimed to have went through with both of things that Leon had told him to do last night, he wanted proof that Raihan had really went through with it. &gt;&gt;Prove ta me ya went through wit’ what I told ya ta do. Show me a picture of yer arm wit’ my name carved in it.&lt;&lt;Leon then sent the text, patiently waiting for a response from Raihan. And soon enough, he got a reply, though, Raihan was texting rather slow because of the pain he felt in his arm. Raihan carefully unwrapped the gauze bandage, flinching at the sight of the wound. Now that he was more awake, he was less confident about even seeing this wound. But sure enough, he took the picture and began to type a text to go along with the picture.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">&gt;&gt;I told you I would do this for you, Piers. It...really hurt to cut this deep into my skin, but, it’s worth the pain if this’ll make you happy, Piers...&lt;&lt; After having sent that text, Raihan rewrapped the gauze bandages on his arm, wincing as he did so. You can bet it caught Leon off guard to see the picture of Piers’s name deeply carved into Raihan’s left arm. To say the least, it looked quite painful. He couldn’t imagine how much it must’ve hurt Raihan to do that though. &gt;&gt;So, ya really did do what I asked ya ta do, huh? Well, I do have one more task fer ya, Rai... If ya really loved me, ya’d be willin’ ta give up just ‘bout anythin’ fer me. Ya know that, right? Or are ya not entirely loyal ta me?...&lt;&lt; When Raihan saw that message, he flinched a bit. Why was Piers still accusing him of not being entirely loyal yet? What more could Piers want from him? He didn’t know. And to be honest, he was kind of afraid to find out what it is that Piers exactly wanted from him next. &gt;&gt;I’m loyal, I swear! I wouldn’t ever lie to you about this either Piers and you know that very well!&lt;&lt; Raihan was hoping that he wasn’t sounding desperate at this point. The last thing he’d ever need would be for Piers to think Raihan was nothing more than a person that was desperate to stay with Piers.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Piers grumbled a bit tiredly, as he slowly lifted his head up off his arms and sat up. He had been woken up by the sounds of multiple texts from Raihan. He just figured Raihan was sending him individual selfies or something, so, he decided to check his phone after he has his daily cup of coffee from the cafe at the PokéCenter that was down the road from his house. He yawned a bit as he stood up from his seat, proceeding to go put some clean clothes on, then left his bedroom, heading to the front door. He sighed a bit as he opened the front door, walking out of his house and closing the door behind him. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked down the road, rather tired still. He’s always incredibly tired until he gets his morning coffee. When he got to the cafe at the PokéCenter, he of course ordered the usual type of coffee he got, now patiently waiting for it to be made. Leon couldn’t help but slightly smirk at seeing Raihan’s willingness to do anything for Piers. Raihan was his friend, yes, but Raihan was also the rival that’s been kind of a pest to Leon as of late. It’s such a shame that no one knew that Leon wasn’t always the kind and caring guy that everyone knew and loved. So, Leon sent one more text to Raihan. This would be a real test for Raihan to see the true extents of Raihan’s loyalty. &gt;&gt;A’ight then, Rai. I have one more task fer ya... If ya love me as much as ya say ya do... An’ ya really want ta be wit’ me an’ no one else... Quit yer job as a Gym Leader then... Bein’ a Gym Leader takes up a lot o’ yer time. If ya were really loyal, ya would quit ta spend more time wit’ me... So, if ya really love me, ya would go an’ tell the Chairman that ya want ta quit yer job.&lt;&lt; Now, Leon only had to wait for a response from Raihan.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Raihan froze up when he saw that Piers wanted him to quit his job as the Eighth Gym Leader of Galar. He loved his job so very much, but he knew it did keep him incredibly busy. If he quits his job though, that would make Spikemuth’s Gym be the final Gym, since no one else is particularly suitable to take over Hammerlocke Gym. However, if Raihan quits his job as the Eighth Gym Leader of Galar, then that would leave the Stadium unoccupied and more than likely, Chairman Rose would try convincing Piers again to relocate his Gym to a place that allowed the use of Dynamaxing. Since well, to be honest, Rose was not pleased that Piers was refusing to move his Gym from Spikemuth. And that in itself caused a massive argument between Piers and Rose, which is why Rose now refuses to help Spikemuth at all, leaving only more of a burden on Piers’s shoulders. But Raihan knew very well that if he refused to do this, Piers may not want to date him anymore. His hand trembled as he typed a response to ‘Piers’. &gt;&gt;If... If that’s what you think will be best, then, alright, Piers... I’ll... I’ll go talk to the Chairman this morning and tell him I’m resigning from my job as Galar’s Eighth Gym Leader...  Just know that this means that your Gym will become the final Gym of the Trainer Challenges unless a replacement is found for my Gym... I love you, my perfect little Rockstar. I hope this makes you happy...&lt;&lt; After having sent the text, Raihan got up and put some clothes on; his usual outfit with his dragon hoodie.  As sad as Raihan was to resign from his job, he knew this was all just to repair his and Piers’s relationship, or so he thought. After all, once a Gym Leader resigns, they are by law, not allowed to become a Gym Leader for that Region again. And here Raihan is, willing to give up essentially everything he has just for Piers...</p>
<p>Raihan sent the Chairman a quick text to let Rose know that he was stopping by Rose’s office soon to talk with Rose about an important topic, then he put his phone away in his hoodie pocket, walking downstairs and leaving his house. He took his Flygon out of it’s Ultra Ball, having Flygon fly him to Wyndon. On the way to Wyndon, he couldn’t help but feel a heavy weight on his heart. He’s given up his social media, he carved Piers’s name in his arm, and now, he’s giving up his beloved job. All just for Piers. He knew life wouldn’t ever be the same without having his social media and his Gym, but, it would be worth it right?...  As for Leon, Leon was overall shocked that Raihan had actually agreed to give up his beloved job all because Raihan believed Piers was the one telling him to do that. But had Leon gone too far this time?... Perhaps so... It’s not like he could undo the damage now though. So for now, he closed the social media app while staying logged into Piers’s account.</p>
<p>Piers as of the current moment, was sitting at a small table at the cafe area of the PokéCenter, having a small conversation with someone as he sipped on his coffee. Basically everyone in Spikemuth knew Piers had been having bad relationship issues as of late, and most people avoided bringing the topic up, not wanting to upset Piers. Piers sighed as he was talking with his friend Felix, whom had recently moved to Spikemuth from Alola. “Ya know Felix, I’m glad ta have ya as a friend, y’know?...” Felix of course, nodded a bit, trying to keep his energy levels at a normal amount so that he’s not talking fast enough that it’s impossible to understand what he says since he has a tendency of being incredibly energetic. “And if you ever need help with anything, Piers, I’m here for you, alright? I understand what it’s like going through rocky relationships as well, believe it or not. The only relationship I’ve ever been in ended with me finding my girlfriend cheating on me...” Piers sighed softly, putting a hand on Felix’s shoulder. “I’m sorry ta hear ‘bout that, Felix...” Piers then put his hand back down on the table. “Ya know... I’ve... I’ve been actually thinkin’ of maybe just breakin’ up wit’ Raihan... Our relationship has only been gettin’ worse, an’ I don’t think it’s gonna get any better...” </p>
<p>Felix looked down under the table, feeling his Torracat rubbing against his legs then looked back at Piers as he reached down, petting his Torracat gently. “I don’t think now would be a good time to break up with Raihan, Piers. This is just my opinion though...” Piers gave a confused glance to Felix, taking a sip from his coffee. “An’ why is it that ya think today wouldn’t be a good day ta break up wit’ Raihan?...” Felix sighed softly. “Have you heard the news that Raihan deleted almost all his social medias last night?... People are really worried about Raihan and some people are already spreading rumors that Raihan might be going through some bad depression right now. By chance do you have any idea why Raihan suddenly deleted his social medias?...” When Piers heard that Raihan had deleted almost all his social medias, Piers nearly spat out his coffee in shock. “He WHAT?!” Piers quickly picked up his phone to message Raihan, but when he saw those messages that he knew for a fact that he didn’t type those, he mentally panicked. And when he saw that one picture Raihan had sent, he felt as if his heart had just dropped and his face paled even more than it had originally been pale. He got up from his seat, tossing his coffee cup in the waste bin. “Sorry I have ta cut our conversation short, Felix. But I need ta go talk ta Raihan immediately.” He then quickly walked out of the PokéCenter. All he could do was hope that Raihan was still at his house in Hammerlocke, because if Raihan wasn’t there and was on his way to Wyndon, Piers knew for a fact he would not be able to get to Wyndon before Raihan could. But if he’s not fast enough, what is he supposed to say the next he sees Raihan? Say it wasn’t him that sent those texts and that someone else had ruined Raihan’s life? Or lie and go along with it as if he had been the one to send those texts?...</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Raihan got to Wyndon, he thanked his Flygon for taking him there and returned Flygon to it’s Ultra Ball. He then walked into the tower to which Rose’s office was located in, heading over to the elevator since he knew Rose knew Raihan wanted to talk to him today. As he was in the long elevator ride up to Rose’s office, he sighed and just waited patiently to get to the floor that Rose’s office was on. Did he really want to go through with this? Was he really going to give up everything for Piers? Yes, he was. He wanted to prove his love and loyalty to Piers, so, he was doing this just to show his commitment to his lover. When the elevator got to the floor Raihan needed to go to and the doors opened, Raihan walked out of the elevator, beginning to walk down the long hallway towards the Chairman’s office. Rose as of the current moment, was seated at the large cedar desk he had in his office, working on some simple paperwork. Rose knew that Raihan would be stopping by sometime soon, but he wasn’t sure exactly what time Raihan would be stopping by. Though, it wasn’t long before he heard Raihan’s footsteps coming down the hallway. </p>
<p>Raihan hesitated a bit once he got to Rose’s office door, soon gaining the confidence to knock lightly, open the door, walk into the room, then close the door behind him and walk over to the chair on the opposite side of Rose’s desk, sitting down across from Rose. Rose looked up from his paperwork, making eye contact with Raihan. He sat up a bit to straighten his posture, his eye contact not breaking whatsoever. “So, you wished to speak to me, Mr. Raihan? What exactly is it that you wish to discuss with me?” Raihan to say the least, was certainly feeling nervous now. He looked down at his hands for a moment, then looked back up at the Chairman, whom had returned to filling out paperwork as he listened to Raihan. “I... I know I haven’t been a Gym Leader for as long as some of the other Gym Leaders have, but... I... I would like to resign from my role as the Eighth Gym Leader of Galar...” Raihan held his breath slightly as he waited for a response. Raihan took notice of the fact that Rose’s shoulders seemed to tense a bit when Raihan said he wanted to resign. In Raihan’s mind, he could figure that likely would not be any sort of good sign.</p>
<p>To say the least, Rose was certainly shocked at the fact Raihan already wanted to resign. He looked up at Raihan and once more straightened his posture. Though, it was quite obvious that Rose was not so pleased with the fact Raihan wanted to resign, but it’s not like Rose could force Raihan to stay, right? Rose sighed softly as he looked down at his desk for a moment. “I do not know why you would want to resign from such an impressive role in Galar, but if that is what you would truly like, then you’ll have to fill out some paperwork in order to fully resign from your duties as the Eighth Gym Leader of Galar. I’m sure you have your reasons for wanting to resign, but just know that this is a permanent decision, Mr. Raihan...” Rose reached down to a desk drawer, opening it and taking out some resignation forms for Raihan to fill out, setting the papers down in front of Raihan and gave him a pen to use to fill out the resignation forms. “Just fill out these forms Mr. Raihan, and it will officially make you no longer be a Gym Leader for Galar.” Raihan looked at the pen for a moment before picking it up and beginning to read and fill out the forms. While Rose was indeed not too pleased with the fact Raihan was resigning from his job, that didn’t mean he couldn’t take out Raihan’s actions on Piers later on. After all, now that Piers was the final Gym Leader of Galar, Piers would have more responsibilities. For example, now Piers is the one who will have to have prerequisite battles against Leon every year, as well as attend the weekly meetings that Raihan had once had to attend due to having been the final Gym Leader of Galar. But for the time being, Raihan continued to fill out the paperwork to resign from his job.</p>
<p>Meanwhile with Piers, Piers was on his way to Hammerlocke as of the current moment. Hammerlocke wasn’t exactly that close to Spikemuth, so it would take Piers around an hour to get there unfortunately. Meaning, that by the time Piers would even get to Raihan’s house, Raihan would have the forms likely fully filled out by then. But when Piers did eventually get to Hammerlocke, you can bet he rushed to Raihan’s door, knocking on the door. But when he got no response at all, he realized Raihan must have already left. Piers actually felt his eyes tear up a bit, knowing that by now, he surely was far too late to stop Raihan from resigning. What else could Piers do aside from just sit on the doorstep and wait for Raihan to get home? Probably not much, right? So for now, he just sat down on the doorstep, awaiting for Raihan to return. Though, the thought that if he hadn’t been observant sooner, he could have stopped Raihan from ever doing this... When Raihan finished filling out the resignation forms, he handed them back to the Chairman, speaking a bit more, then getting up and walking out of the office. Raihan had no idea how much he just further screwed up Piers’s life by signing those forms. This is why it’s important to read the fine print incredibly carefully. It’s such a shame that Raihan hadn’t read that fine print at all. He could have saved Piers from a lot of trouble if he had read the fine print before signing the forms.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Raihan sighed as he headed down to the lobby of the building. He was definitely going to miss his job as a Gym Leader, but if this is what it took to make Piers be happy, then so be it. Now that he had done everything that Piers had supposedly told him to do, he could go be happy with Piers, right?  By the time he got to the lobby, he noticed he had gotten a text from Piers. He opened the text message app, reading the text. &gt;&gt;’Ey Rai, I’m waitin’ fer ya at yer house on the doorstep. Or do ya just want me ta let myself into the house since I still ‘ave that spare key ya gave me a while ago?&lt;&lt; For now, Piers was just planning on going along with it and making it seem like he had been the one to send the texts, even though he felt incredibly guilty about having not noticed what was going on sooner with his account being hacked. Of course, it certainly surprised Raihan that Piers was already at the doorstep of his house, waiting for him, so, knowing it’d take him a while to get home to Hammerlocke, he sent a response text to Piers. &gt;&gt;You can go ahead and let yourself into the house, my beautiful Rockstar. I wouldn’t want you to have to just be kept waiting on the doorstep for me, now would I? Feel free to make yourself feel at home. It’ll take me a bit to get back home.&lt;&lt; After having sent the text, Raihan went outside of the building, taking his Flygon back out and had his Flygon begin to take him back to Hammerlocke.</p>
<p>Piers sighed softly as he stood up, grabbing his small ring of keys out of his jacket pocket. The keys belonged to all sorts of things, some of which Piers didn’t even remember what they were for. He looked through the keyring for the spare key to Raihan’s front door, finding it soon enough. Though, when he went to unlock the front door, he was confused when he saw it was already unlocked. “Huh?... That’s odd... Rai usually never leaves the front door unlocked ‘less he’s home...” Piers however, just shrugged it off as maybe Raihan having forgotten to lock the front door before he had left. Piers opened the door, walking into the house and closed the door behind him, glancing around. Everything appeared to be in the same place that it usually was, so, it’s not like it seemed like anyone had broken into the house. But just to be sure, Piers decided to do Raihan a favor by checking around the house to ensure everything was ok. First and foremost, he checked the main floor of the house. At first, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, but as he approached the kitchen / hallway area of the house, he began to feel a bit of that unnerving feeling of being watched. Which of course, the fact he felt like someone was watching him was certainly likely not a good sign of anything. He cautiously made his way over to the couch in the living room, sitting down on the couch and taking his phone out to text Raihan.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt;Hey Rai? Did ya know that ya left yer front door unlocked?...&lt;&lt; Of course, there was no response from Raihan. He was focused on getting back to Hammerlocke safely, so, he likely wouldn’t be checking his phone for messages until he safely got back to the ground in Hammerlocke. When Piers received no response, Piers let out a soft sigh, thinking that maybe that feeling of being watched was just his imagination. Yeah, that had to be it. It’s not like someone was in the house, watching him and watching his overall every move, right? Piers just chuckled a bit to himself, dismissing it as nothing more than his imagination playing mere tricks on him. He sighed a bit as he just laid on the couch for now, deciding to try to take a short nap while he waited, knowing it’d be a while before Raihan would get back home. He gently closed his eyes, relaxing and soon falling asleep. And of course, Leon just so happened to have snuck into the house before Piers had gotten here. He crept out of his hiding place silently, glaring at Piers. If Piers was still together with Raihan, he just had to find another way to sabotage Piers and Raihan’s relationship. And surely, that wouldn’t be too overwhelmingly difficult. He just had to find a different approach to this.</p>
<p>Even if Leon fails to make Raihan and Piers break up altogether, that doesn’t mean he can’t make their life an absolute living hell. Leon has no intentions of giving up anytime soon. He didn’t even know why he exactly was doing this. Maybe it was out of jealousy that Raihan and Piers had each other while Leon had no one. Maybe he was just way too overprotective of Raihan and thought Raihan deserved someone much better than Piers. Or maybe he just couldn’t stand the idea of Raihan or Piers dating anyone. Who knows? But one thing’s for sure. Leon <span class="u"><em><strong>WILL</strong></em></span> ensure that Raihan and Piers don’t stay together; even if it’s the last thing he does. He won’t give up; he just can’t. But this... This was only the beginning of Leon trying to break them up...and the beginning Leon making their life slowly become a living hell, possibly with the help of someone else... But one thing’s for certain... <span class="u"><em><strong>He</strong></em></span> will <span class="u"><strong><em>Pay</em></strong></span>. And that He won’t be Leon either.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Raihan did eventually get home, he found Piers sound asleep on the couch. Of course, Leon had left at this point for now, but he may be back later. Raihan smiled and went and gently kissed Piers on the forehead, soon going to go do some chores around the house quietly while Piers slept soundly. Of course, even though Piers appeared to be sleeping soundly, he was far from sleeping soundly. No, he was having a terrible nightmare. One of which would typically be enough to make just about anyone jolt awake from fear with soaked pants just from the absolute fear of the realistic nightmare. But for now, the nightmare that filled Piers’s mind had yet to reach the maximum fear capacity that it could be. But what could cause a nightmare so frightening? Perhaps a traumatic event? Perhaps a spell? Maybe just the stress Piers was going through is to blame? Or could other factors be to blame for the nightmare? No one knows and Piers certainly doesn’t know either. But to say the least, this slumber was far from peaceful for Piers, yet, Piers could not wake himself up quite yet. But this is just one of the many things that has yet to become of Piers’s life. And sometimes, <strike>dreams</strike> nightmares are nothing more than a warning of what is yet to come.</p><p>In the <strike>dream</strike> nightmare, things were normal at first. Piers was actually quite happy for once. Him and Raihan’s issues were no more, Raihan had his job still, Piers’s stress was gone, and well, everything was happy. Something about this <strike>dream</strike> nightmare felt so...real... to Piers... And as pleasant as it seemed now, something felt incredibly off... Piers in the <strike>dreamworld</strike> nightmare realm, was currently at a house him and Raihan had gotten together. It was a nice two floor house that had plenty of outdoor space to explore, and had a massive fenced-in property overall. Him and Raihan had actually adopted a small child named Eventide. Eventide was an eight year old child with beautiful blue eyes and brown messy hair that reached a little past his ears. The boy was as of the current moment, playing in the backyard with his Shiny Umbreon named Nightfall. No one was particularly supervising Eventide, but Piers was once in a while, glancing out the back window to see if Eventide was ok. Considering this was nothing more than a <strike>dream</strike> nightmare, it seemed so...real...almost concerningly so... Piers sighed softly as he looked out the back window of the house, seeing Eventide happily chasing Nightfall. He couldn’t help but feel a small smile for, on his face as he watched Eventide be so cheerful with the umbreon, playing tag or just chasing each other around in the yard for the fun of it. Why couldn’t Piers’s life be this pleasant? Was this <strike>dream</strike> nightmare for nothing more than to show Piers what his heart oh so desired even though this happy of a life seemed impossible for Piers to achieve? Perhaps so, perhaps not. Maybe Piers’s mind was simply taunting Piers by showing Piers the life Piers could likely never have? Piers simply didn’t know. But could something so pleasant really last for forever? That’s quite unlikely, now isn’t it? Especially for Piers. Life could never be that easy or pleasant for him.</p><p>Piers sighed softly as he walked over to the kitchen sink to work on hand cleaning some dishes as he waited for Raihan to get home from work. He’d give anything for this pleasant <strike>dream</strike> nightmare to be reality. But would that be a choice that’s regretted? Perhaps so. Piers hummed a soft tune as he worked on cleaning the dishes, feeling a little lost in thought as he was doing the simple task of washing a few dishes. Piers already knew this was no normal <strike>dream</strike> nightmare. How did he know that? Every time he slept, his <strike>dream</strike> nightmare continued where it left off, almost as if it were a second reality to him. But this time, something felt...different... When Piers wasn’t so lost in thought, he took notice that it had actually started to rain outside, not like Eventide cared. The boy loved to play out in the rain, but Piers didn’t want Eventide to catch a cold, nor did he want Nightfall to catch a cold. He walked over to the sliding glass back door, calmly sliding open the door as he looked out at Eventide. “Eventide, Nightfall, it’s time fer ya two ta come into the house. I don’t want ya two ta get sick from playin’ out in the rain, nor do I want ya fallin’ in the mud.” Of course, Eventide just gave Piers a pouting expression, wanting to stay outside longer. “But Dad, Me and Nightfall like playing in the rain and mud! It’s so fun!” Nightfall looked at Piers with a silent expression as he stayed by Eventide’s side.” Eventide then proceeded to give Piers that one expression that some parents have difficulty saying no to. Piers sighed softly. If there was one thing Piers couldn’t say no to, it was to that expression. “A’ight, fifteen more minutes. No later than that. Then ya have ta come inside an’ if ya get muddy, ya have ta take a bath, do ya understand me, Eventide an’ Nightfall?” After Piers having said that, Eventide happily nodded his head then went back to running around with Nightfall.</p><p>Piers then closed the glass slider door, walking over to the cabinet to grab some food that was meant for only Pokémon to eat. He carried the bag of Pokémon food over to Nightfall’s food bowl, deciding to put some fresh food in the bowl for Nightfall so that Nightfall could eat when he comes back in the house. Piers also refilled the water bowl for Nightfall as well. After that small task was done, Piers smiled a little as he heard the front door open, automatically assuming that it was Raihan that had just entered the house. So of course, Piers went to go greet whom he assumed to be Raihan. Piers had a small smile on his face as he walked over to the living room, the smile fading when he saw it wasn’t Raihan, but was instead, Leon. His once relatively happy expression was replaced with a confused expression, then a look of fear when he saw that Leon looked really fucking pissed off. Piers however, was not about to let Leon scare him into listening. After all, this was Piers’s <strike>dream</strike> nightmare, not Leon’s. Piers could do whatever he wanted here, or so he thought. Piers glared a bit as he walked up to Leon, not letting Leon come any further into the house. “What do ya fuckin’ want, Leon? An’ ya should know ta not just come an’ barge into my house like that wit’out permission ta enter.” That statement of course, did not change Leon’s mind about anything. Leon only let out a huff in response as he crossed his arms, a cruel yet twisted grin crept onto Leon’s face. “You know very well why I’m here, Piers.” In all honesty, Piers had no idea why Leon was here, so, Piers’s confused expression returned once more as he maintained eye contact with Leon. “Uh, no, I don’t know why yer ‘ere, Leon. Mimd tellin’ me why it is that you’re ‘ere-“ Of course, Piers got interrupted by a now quite pissed off Leon. What, did you expect this <strike>dream</strike> nightmare was going to stay pleasant for forever? Haha, <strong><em><span class="u">no</span></em></strong>.</p><p>Leon gave Piers a harsh glare, proceeding to harshly shove Piers, making Piers stumble back, hit his head on the wall, then fall down on his ass. Piers gave Leon a fearful yet angered expression “W-What the ‘ell was that fer, Leon?!” Leon couldn’t help but let out a low and menacing growl as he glared at Piers. “You know exactly what that was for, you fucking idiot! He was supposed to fucking be mine, not yours! He’s my fucking-“ And before Leon could speak anymore, Piers suddenly woke up, unable to know what else Leon had been supposed to say. He sat up on the couch, beads of sweat dripping down his face as be glanced around,only to feel a worried Raihan hug him rather tightly. And now that Piers was more aware of his surroundings, he saw he was no longer actually in Raihan’s house. He winced as he tried to adjust his seating position, only to take note that he was actually in the hospital. Why was he here? Had something happened in his sleep that required him to get hospitalized? He didn’t know. All that Piers knew was that his chest and back really hurt and were oddly enough, bandaged quite a bit. Should he ask Raihan what happened? Perhaps. But perhaps not. But one thought that was  playing in his mind. What had happened that night that had hospitalized him and did it have anything to do with that <strike>dream</strike> nightmare?...</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Piers had woken up, his eyes felt heavy and he could feel a stinging pain on a particular spot on his back and chest. He winced a little as he made an attempt to sit up, ending up being unable to do so because of being too sore. He glanced over at the chair beside his bed, seeing Raihan was sitting there, looking worried as hell. Even more concerningly, why did Piers have bandages wrapped around his upper chest / upper back? Piers didn’t know. He hoped that at least Raihan would have some answers for him. It wasn’t until he tried to speak that he realized that his throat too, was incredibly sore. Yet, he still managed to speak just a bit above a loud whisper. “R...Rai?.... What....What happened when I was sleepin’?...An’...An’ why am I in the hospital?...”  When Raihan heard Piers speak, he immediately looked at Piers, glad to see Piers was awake. You can bet that Raihan’s never been so relieved to hear Piers’s voice. As for what happened... Raihan was rather hesitant on telling Piers what happened... Then again, Piers had a right to know... Raihan sighed softly, deciding to ask Piers if Piers really wanted to know what happened. “Are...Are you sure you really want to know what happened?...</p><p>Piers was rather confused about why Raihan seemed so damn reluctant about telling him what happened and about why he was in the hospital. He once more tried to sit up, but ultimately gave up on putting any effort inti trying to sit up. “An’ why is my upper chest bandaged?... An’ why does my throat hurt so much, Rai?...”  Piers wanted to know what was going on. If Raihan didn’t tell him, Piers would assume whatever happened had been Raihan’s fault. Raihan was now noticeably trembling a bit. He still had tears in his eyes because he had been crying quite a lot when Piers had been unconscious. Raihan looked down at the floor, tears rolling down his cheeks as he spoke softly in a still shaky tone of voice. “When you were taking a nap, I... I had to go to the store to get a few ingredients to use for making dinner... I... I thought it’d be ok to leave you alone for maybe an hour while I was at the store, but when I came back... I... You... You were unconscious on the couch and...and barely alive... There... There was a lot of blood and stab marks on your chest and I... I was so scared I was going to lose you...” Raihan broke down crying once more. Raihan didn’t know who had done this to Piers, but whoever did this must have really fucking hated Piers for something. Perhaps it was out of jealousy for something? Or just straight up spite? But who would do such a thing to Galar’s most beloved Rockstar?...</p><p>When Piers heard the news that someone had broken into the house and had tried to kill him in his sleep but had failed to do so, Piers trembled in fear. Sure, he had obsessive fans as well as people who hated him for outranking their favorite singer just because Piers was thought to be a better singer. But he knew they’d never go this far just for that reason. No, it had to be someone else who tried to do this to him. But this didn’t explain why his throat hurt so much. His hand shook as he moved it up to the place that was hurting on his throat, freezing when he felt there were multiple stitches there. Piers had been scared from the murder attempt as it is, but now something was wrong with his throat?... “Why...Why do I have stitches on my throat, Rai?...” Raihan sniffled a little as he tried to calm his crying down enough to be able to talk. “Whoever it was that had tried to...kill... you, had tried to seemingly ruin your vocal cords, Piers... And... And according to the doctors... They... They don’t think you’ll ever be able to sing the way you used to anymore...” Raihan knew that news would break Piers’s heart. After all, Piers’s singing was basically his whole life. And to say the least, that news hit Piers pretty damn hard right in the heart.</p><p>When Piers heard the dreaded words that he would likely never be able to sing or do concerts again, he froze. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he started to full on cry. What was he to do if he couldn’t sing? Singing was his passion, no, singing was his life. And now, that had been taken from him. After his crying calmed down eventually, he realized something. Marnie’s been home alone all this time? Had Raihan at least gotten someone to babysit her? Piers hoped so. And how long has he even been unconscious? Piers trembled as he looked over at Raihan. “How...How long ‘ave I been unconscious fer, Rai?...” Raihan looked at Piers with a look of worry in his eyes. “You’ve...been unconscious for four days because of how weak you were from the blood loss and because you had to have surgery on both your chest to repair internal damages near your heart and to repair your throat and vocal cords enough for you to be able to talk again...” Piers had been unconscious for that long?? Now Piers really hoped that Raihan had someone babysitting Marnie and he hoped that it was someone reliable. “Did... Did ya at least find someone ta keep an’ eye on my lil’ sis’?... I... I hope ya haven’t left her alone fer these past four days...” Raihan nodded a little. “Yeah, I found someone to babysit her. Leon’s babysitting her at the moment.” Piers was grateful that someone he thought could be trusted, was babysitting Marnie. He had no idea that Leon was far from being trustable...</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Still, while Piers did believe that his friend Leon would be at least a semi-trustable babysitter for Marnie, he couldn’t help but get a bad feeling about this. So, despite having known Leon ever since they were kids, he had his doubts about how much Leon could really be trusted. But surely he had nothing to worry about, right? He sighed quietly as he looked to the side, trembling slightly as he spoke softly. “T...Thanks fer findin’ someone ta babysit my lil’ sis’ ‘til I’m able ta leave the hospital, Rai... I... I just don’t want my lil’ sis’ ta be wit’out supervision fer too long of a period of time... But maybe I’m just overthinkin’ things, right?” Raihan, whom was still heartbroken over what had happened, was trying his best to stay calm and not start crying again. That incident that got Piers in the hospital had really traumatized him to say the least. But of course, he would still answer Piers. “Everything’ll be alright, ok, Piers? You know very well that I would never let anyone take you from me permanently and that I’d make sure that Marnie stayed safe if there was ever a time you couldn’t be there to protect her.” With having heard that, Piers simply nodded a bit in understanding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As for Leon, he was currently rather bored as he was keeping an eye on Marnie. You probably think he was at his family’s house in Postwick, right? Actually, he had a decent sized house in Wyndon, which is where he was with Marnie right now. Knowing that he had failed to actually kill Piers had certainly left him on quite a sour mood. After all, everything he’s done to try to get Raihan to leave Piers had only strengthened Raihan’s love for Piers; the exact opposite of what Leon wanted.  Why couldn’t things just go the way Leon for just once? Why couldn’t he just get Raihan to break up with him. And while Leon was one person that Piers had no idea he should even have to fear, there was yet another person Piers was unaware that he should fear as well. After all, it was Raihan’s fault for not reading the fine print on the resignation contract he had to sign when he quit his job as Galar’s Eighth Gym Leader. Oh, if he had just read the fine print, he could have saved Piers from having to go through a lot of trouble with Rose. But since Raihan had failed to read the fine print, Piers was going to have to one day pay the consequences for that mistake Raihan made. But that may not be for a while at least. One thing however, is certain. And that is that Raihan has majorly fucked up Piers’s life by not reading that fine print. This is exactly why no one should trust the Chairman because you never know when he’s going to try to trick people.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leon sighed as he glanced over at Marnie to just see what she was up to, which Marnie was simply playing peek-a-boo with her Morpeko quietly. He knew he had to wait for Piers to leave the hospital before he could screw with Piers’s life further than he already had. That is of course, unless he were to perhaps let something bad happen to Marnie. He knew that girl meant the absolute world to Piers because she was basically all the family Piers had left. And on top of that, if Piers lost Marnie, he’d have no one to take over his Gym for him since well, no one other than Marnie has ever had interest in taking over the Dark Type Gym. Meaning, Piers cannot retire until he finds someone suitable to take over his Gym for him. Which that would only add more stress onto Piers as well as make Piers have to go through the grief of losing the only family he had left, which would overall possibly push Piers’s depression far enough that Piers can no longer stand living. Leon could only hope that this is what would get Piers to give up. But the thing is, how could he make murder look like an accident? Or was this really taking things too far this time? At this point, Leon wasn’t sure. But for now, this was nothing more than a mere thought that may never actually be put into action. This is really basically possibly a last resort plan if it ever were to come down to this. If nothing else works to separate Piers and Raihan, then it’s goodbye Marnie. Even if he didn’t take Marnie away from Piers, he still had other ways to screw with Piers further.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though, one thing is for certain. Even if he didn’t harm another person that Piers cared about, he sure as hell knew how to make Piers’s life a living hell if it were necessary which to Leon, it was completely necessary. And since Leon and the Chairman chat frequently, oh, you can bet he knew about Raihan not reading the fine print as well as Leon knowing every little detail that Raihan missed in that fine print. And since Raihan has no idea what that fine print said, if the Chairman and Leon add on to the fine print, Raihan wouldn’t even know that anything had been added on since he never bothered to read it. And because of this little fact, this could make it all so much easier for Leon to really fuck up Piers’s life in a much larger variety of ways. Leon looked over at Marnie and spoke calmly yet in a also serious tone to her despite what was on in his mind at the moment. “Hey Marnie? I know I’m supposed to be watching you right now, but I just remembered I’m late for a really important meeting. Could you promise to stay here until I get back from the meeting?” That was a lie. There was no set up meeting that Leon had. He just needed an excuse to be able to go talk to the Chairman. Marnie looked over at Leon then looked down at Morpeko, speaking softly and shyly. “I guess that would be alright as long as you’re not gone too long…” Leon smiled a seemingly normal smile, trying his best not to get a chilling grin on his face. “Thanks for listening, Marnie. I’ll be back soon.” After having said that, he got up, walking out of his house and closing the door behind him. He had no idea that Marnie saw a small piece of paper unintentionally fall out of his pocket.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Marnie was rather confused when she saw the paper fall out of Leon’s pocket. The right thing to do would have been to go quickly give it back to Leon before Leon could get far from the house, but her curiosity got the best of her as she went and carefully picked up the small paper, unfolding it to look at it. Yeah, you can bet her face paled when she saw what it was after reading it and out of instinct, she crumpled up the paper and threw it harshly at the wall, tears rolling down her cheeks. Why would Leon plan something as cruel as that?! How could… How could Leon even want to do that to Piers?... She didn’t understand why Leon was like this. Didn’t Leon care about Piers? Apparently not according to the note. In short summary, the note had all the little details of how Leon planned on screwing up Piers’s life when Piers gets out of the hospital. But yet, Marnie knew there was nothing she could do to stop this from happening as of the current moment. All she could do was live with the guilt of the fact that her brother’s life was only going to get worse once he leaves the hospital and that there was nothing she could do to prevent it from happening. But she can’t help but wonder what else Leon had done to Piers</span>
</p><p class="p2">Leon was currently headed to the Macro Cosmos building to speak with the Chairman about all the ways they could further screw Piers’s life up. Oh, the terrible things they could do to him were never ending and the possibilities were limitless in all honesty. Unfortunately, Piers would not like anything that Leon and the Chairman had planned for him. And unfortunately for Leon, he had no idea that the paper he had had fallen out of his pocket. When Leon got to the Macro Cosmos building, he didn’t bother booking an appointment to speak to the Chairman. He didn’t really need to schedule an appointment since he is the Champion after all. So, instead of speaking to the secretary at the check-in desk, he just headed straight for the elevator that lead to Rose’s office. As for how he already knew that the Chairman would be more than willing to help out with making Piers suffer, well, he knew that the Chairman just so happened to hate Piers much more than Leon did. Leon thought quietly to himself as he patiently waited for the elevator to reach the floor that Rose’s office was located on. He sighed almost contently as he leaned back against the wall of the elevator, speaking to himself since there was no one else in the elevator with him. “Raihan may have managed to get Piers to let Raihan stay with him for a bit longer, but he can’t stay forever. I just wonder exactly how much more the two of them can handle.” His almost content grin turned to a chilling smirk as he thought of all the ways he could screw Piers’s life up. After all, he only wanted what was best for Raihan, right?</p><p class="p2">Once the elevator reached the floor Leon had been heading too, Leon stood up straight and walked out of the elevator once the doors were open. As he headed down the hallway, he noticed that it was rather quiet in the hallway for once. Though, he didn’t think there was anything too bad about that. Leon made his way over to Rose’s office door, knocking twice then opening the door. As usual, the Chairman had only been doing some paperwork, so it wasn’t like Leon was interrupting something major. Leon looked over at Rose as he went and sat in a chair on the opposite side of Rose’s desk. “Sorry if I’m interrupting your work, Chairman. But I think you can assume why I’m here, Chairman.” After having heard Leon walk into the room and heard Leon begin talking, he calmly looked up from his paperwork then sat up to return to having proper position. “I’m assuming you’re here to discuss that ‘resignation contract’ Raihan signed?” And as soon as Rose said that, you can bet Leon nodded almost immediately, followed by a chilling grin spreading across Leon’s face. On any normal circumstance, it would be completely unheard of to see Leon with as chilling of a grin as this. “Yes, that’s exactly why I’m here. I’m still surprised that Raihan hadn’t bothered to have read the fine print on that ‘resignation contract’ at all though. Then again, he’s not always observant to the little details such as those. I swear that one of these days, Raihan is going to end up making a major mistake by not reading the fine print of something.” Leon couldn’t help but chuckle a little darkly, now speaking in a chilling tone of voice. “Oh wait, that already happened~”</p><p class="p3">
  <span class="s1">In all honesty, Rose was not in the least bit surprised by this change of personality from Leon. After all, if there was anyone that would know the </span>
  <span class="s4">real </span>
  <span class="s1">Leon, it was him. Rose was seeming rather calm about all of this, though, he was looking forward to ruining Piers’s life just as much as Leon was. “Well Leon, I’m going to make the assumption that you have plenty of ideas about how to ruin that insomniac rockstar’s life. Aside from anything I had listed in the fine print of the ‘resignation contract’ that Raihan signed, what ideas do you have?” To say the least, Leon had quite a few ideas about how to ruin Piers’s life further. Though for now, he figured he’d only share a few ideas for the time being. “Well... I know for a fact that Piers cannot handle stress well and well, what better way to start off with more suffering than to anonymously start spreading false chilling rumors to ruin Piers’s ‘perfect’ reputation? After all, rumors about famous singers that are as major as Piers is would certainly spread practically like wild fire if a single rumor were to be anonymously made and exposed about Piers. Or would that be escalating things far too quickly? Then again, Piers is in the hospital from almost being murdered by being stabbed in his sleep, so perhaps this wouldn’t be escalating things too quickly. Of course, people are going to be wondering about what motives anyone could have had to have tried to kill Piers, but, I have an idea for a coverup.”</span>
</p><p class="p3">Of course, when Rose heard Piers was in the hospital, he was actually a bit surprised. After all, he hadn’t previously known about Leon attempting to murder Piers. Though, this did not make him feel any differently towards Piers. He still hated that man with a passion, though, it’s not like the public knew how much Rose hated Piers. “And what exactly is your plan for a coverup for the stabbing?” Rose gave Leon a slightly questioning look. Rose knew very well that if word ever got out about what really happened and that if people found out it was Leon who tried to kill Piers, things would go sour rather quickly. Leon of course, wasn’t worried at all. After all, he hasn’t been caught yet, now has he? “Well... I just so happen to know that Piers had gotten into fights with people in the past that had a few charges for attempted murder. Some of those people are in prison, yes, but the ones that hated Piers the most aren’t in prison and actually reside somewhere in Galar. So, if word ever got out that Piers had been involved in certain fights in the past when he was in his early twenties, chances are, people would believe that one of those people that Piers fought with would likely be to blame for Piers being stabbed. And if that doesn’t work out, well, I have a Plan B just in case that first coverup ends up not working out.” Rose sighed softly as he set the pen he had been holding down on his desk. “I hope you are aware of how much trouble you could get in if you get caught and turned in for attempting to murder Piers. While I won’t report you to the authorities, you should still be careful about who finds out about this. Because if you get arrested, you’re likely going to have to stay in jail for quite some time, Leon. Anyways... You said you had other ideas as a backup for the coverup? Mind telling me what one of the ideas are?” Leon nodded, willing to tell Rose his other ideas now.</p><p class="p3">“Well, I do happen to know that sometimes, when Raihan drinks, he has a tendency of getting angered easily. And since Raihan and Piers’s relationship has been incredibly rocky, if Raihan had gotten drunk at any point that night, he could have taken his anger out on Piers. And what other way would he take his anger out on Piers than by trying to get rid of Piers altogether after every bit of the rocky relationship that’s happened? I’ve noticed that Raihan lately, has been drinking more frequently than he used to. So, as a Plan B coverup, this would possibly work out since well, who’s to say that after Raihan went to the store to get groceries, when he got back, he attacked Piers out of anger and frustration when Piers was sleeping? I also have other ways to ruin Piers’s life when he gets out of the hospital. Such as by convincing Raihan that Piers had been cheating on him for a year and that would cause further conflict between them, or perhaps further ruin Piers’s life by having Piers catch Raihan ‘cheating’ on him. Or better yet, make Piers feel so betrayed by Raihan that he has no choice but to break up with him. After all, Piers has only ever wanted a relationship where his lover won’t use him for his fame or body. If I can get a hold of the account information for the last social media that Raihan has left, I could frame Raihan and make it look like Raihan has secretly been using Piers for his fame this entire time and then I could pretend to have just so happened to see when that post was sent; then I could go to Piers and show him the post, acting like I felt really bad about having to tell him the ‘news’ that Raihan’s been using him this entire time.” To say the least, something about Rose’s eerily calm expression was chilling as Rose gave a simple small yet chilling smile as he looked at Leon calmly. “Well, if you wish to further ruin Piers’s life by framing Raihan, then so be it. Just don’t let Raihan catch onto what you’re doing, Leon. But, I’m sure we can come to an agreement for going about getting these plans you have come up with be finished, Leon. For now, I do have paperwork I have to get back to working on, so, for the time being, you are dismissed.” Leon simply nodded in response. “Yes, Chairman.” Leon then got up from his seat, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. This however, was only the beginning of what Leon had planned for both Piers and Raihan.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As Leon walked down the hallway towards the elevator, he couldn’t help but think of all the different ways he could turn Piers’s life into a living hell. He’s already made Raihan suffer quite a bit. Surely, having Raihan delete his social medias, having Raihan cut Piers’s name into his arm, and having Raihan quit his job as a Gym Leader was enough torture for Raihan, right? Leon didn’t seem to think so. And while there was not much Leon could do while Piers was in the hospital, this did not mean he couldn’t start planning ahead. Now of course, Leon wasn’t one to get cruel and aggressive towards people, but he just couldn’t stand to see Raihan be with Piers. His sweet and loyal, yet </span>
  <span>gullible and stupid</span>
  <span> Raihan… How could that man he cared about the safety of so dearly possibly love that insomniac rockstar? Leon didn’t understand why Raihan was so insistent on staying with Piers. After all, the two essentially had nothing in common other than their fame… Wait… Perhaps that could be a key to ruining things further for them… Perhaps now, Leon could have an idea to play off from once Raihan leaves the hospital… Who ever said he couldn’t play a bit of an unfair game of screwing around with their fame? After all, Raihan still had one social media left. That’s all Leon needed. That is if he chose to hack Raihan’s social media, which may draw unwanted attention to himself. Maybe it’d be best for him to hack Piers’s social medias instead. So for now, he simply headed back to his home for the time being; simply to plot on how to further screw up Piers and Raihan’s life and to get Raihan away from Piers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As time passed by, Leon had no choice other than to await for the day that Piers would be able to leave the hospital and wait for the day that Raihan wouldn’t be frequently staying by Piers’s side. After all, if Raihan was frequently by Piers’s side, if Leon hacked Piers’s account now, it would only begin looking suspicious to Raihan. And while Leon knew Raihan could be rather gullible at times, he didn’t plan on ever letting Raihan catch on to what the truth of the situation was. Though, at least Leon didn’t have to wait too incredibly long for the day Raihan would start being less clingy. Leon only had to wait approximately two weeks, five days, twelve hours, forty seven minutes, and fifty two seconds. And yes, Leon really kept note of how long he waited by the exact second. But that only makes him seem all the more desperate about breaking Raihan and Piers up, huh? This was likely because he really was quite desperate at this point. After all, he knew Raihan deserved better than Piers. Piers was a bad influence in Leon’s own opinion, not that anyone else could really see. But how could he screw with them more? Well, while the social media hacking could certainly work, that would likely end things far too quickly. And besides, Leon wanted them to suffer </span>
  <em>
    <span>slowly</span>
  </em>
  <span>. However, as much as he wanted to rush into this, he knew he had to have patience and keep the suspicion away from himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Currently with Raihan, he hasn’t stopped trying to figure out who had tried killing Piers, let alone why they even tried killing Piers. As far as Raihan knew, he thought Piers didn’t have any enemies, so, what reason would anyone have to want him dead? To say the least, Raihan was fearful for Piers’s safety. Yet, he knew he couldn’t be by Piers’s side 24/7. And now that he thinks about it, while he did want to be loyal to Piers, he also missed his job as a Gym Leader. Maybe he could convince Rose to give him another chance at being a Gym Leader again sometime… He didn’t know. As of the current moment, he was just walking to his home in Hammerlocke, wondering what to do now. After all, Piers told him that he wanted to have a break from seeing anyone for a while because Piers wanted to get some rest. That on it’s own, was kind of worrying Raihan. What if someone tried attacking Piers again? Would they try hurting Piers again? Then, Raihan remembered that Leon was still babysitting Marnie. And how was Marnie doing? He didn’t know. Something was giving him chills down his spine, yet, he couldn’t figure out why something was feeling so off to him. He got to his front door, taking out a key to unlock the front door. Once the door was unlocked, he walked into his house, closing the door behind him and proceeded to go and sit down on the couch. Trying to think about who could have tried killing Piers was honestly starting to give Raihan a bit of a headache. Maybe it’d make him feel better if he texted Piers just to check on Piers? So, he opened the last social media he had, deciding to message Piers. The only thing is, he had no idea that Piers had his phone shut off and that Leon still secretly had access to Piers’s account.</span>
</p>
<p>&gt;&gt;Hey Piers? I understand you said you wanted some space from everyone for a bit so you could rest, but, I just wanted to see how you were doing. And if it makes you feel any better, I’ve been trying my best to try to figure out who attacked you, but so far, I can’t even figure out why someone would attack you. Do you have any ideas of why someone could have had motive to try to kill you?...&lt;&lt; After having typed the message, Raihan sent it to Piers, hoping Piers would respond soon. And wouldn’t you know it that Leon noticed the message almost right away? After all, he keeps a close eye on all activity that Piers and Raihan have on their social medias and their daily life. Leon couldn’t help but feel a chilling grin slowly creep up onto his face as he opened the app and read the message Raihan had sent to Piers. Though, seeing that Raihan was already trying to find out who attacked Piers honestly angered Leon a bit. Why did Raihan have to fucking care about the fact Piers got attacked? So what if Piers almost died?! That shouldn’t matter to Raihan! Or at least, that’s what Leon believed. Nonetheless, he decided to reply to the text, once more pretending to be Piers. &gt;&gt;I dunno, Raihan. A lot o’ people probably have some sort o’ motive ta want me dead. I don’t see why ya care so much ‘bout me though. Can’t ya just drop it an’ forget ‘bout all this for now? It doesn’t matter that I almost died, Raihan. Though, I am rather suspicious o’ how ya have been actin’ lately… Are ya sure that ya didn’t have anythin’ ta do wit’ me almost gettin’ killed?...&lt;&lt; Leon then sent the text. While he did know this would likely confuse Raihan a bit, that was the point of this. He wanted Raihan to start questioning himself and he knew that if he could get Raihan to believe that Piers thought that Raihan was involved, he could have Raihan do just about anything to prove his innocence to Piers. And with that, Leon could fuck Piers’s life up even further. But for now, all Leon had to do was wait for Raihan to reply.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>To say Raihan was confused was an understatement. Piers was accusing Raihan of being partially responsible for the stabbing?... Why was Piers accusing him of being involved with the attempted murder?... Didn’t Piers love him?... If Piers really loved him, Piers wouldn’t accuse him of being partially responsible for the attempted murder, right?... Or did Piers really not love him at all?... The thought of Piers possibly not even loving him made him tremble a bit as he thought of a way to respond to the text, soon replying whilst being quite nervous about the accusation. He just hoped Piers wasn’t really accusing him and that this was some sick joke… &gt;&gt;Piers, you know I would never want to cause any harm to you. I love you dearly and you mean the absolute world to me. Did what I’ve told you throughout the time we’ve been together mean nothing to you?... Please tell me this is just a sick joke about you accusing me of having something to do with you almost dying, sweetheart… I know you have a dark sense of humor and all, but please, just say you didn’t really mean the accusation…&lt;&lt; He then sent the text, desperately hoping that this was just a sick joke about the accusation. Since surely, Piers hadn’t truly meant it, right? There’s no way Piers could have truly meant what he said. Not after everything Raihan has done for him. Not after everything Raihan went through just to prove his loyalty to Piers. Was that all for nothing? He didn’t know. He just hoped it wasn’t all for nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leon of course, only felt his chilling grin grow all the more colder as he saw that message. Poor Raihan genuinely believed this was Piers messaging him. How gullible could the man known as Raihan possibly be? Leon wanted to test Raihan’s limits. And what better way to test Raihan’s limits than to test the extents of Raihan’s loyalty to Piers? He was about to reply, only to see Raihan sent one more text to him before he could even have the chance to type. &gt;&gt;Piers, please… I love you and you know I’d do anything for you. Hell, I would give my life for you if I had to. Just please, don’t do sick jokes like this to me…&lt;&lt; To say the least, that caught Leon’s interest. Raihan would do </span>
  <span class="u">
    <b>
      <em>anything</em>
    </b>
  </span>
  <span> for Piers? Really? If that were the case, then screwing around with Raihan’s mind was going to get all the more interesting. So, he began to type a response. &gt;&gt;Ya say ya would do anythin’ fer me, but, I dunno if I really believe that statement. This ain’t a sick joke Raihan. Listen, I’m over here, questionin’ if yer really as loyal ta me as ya claim ta be. An’ if yer not completely loyal ta me, then, I dunno if we should even date anymore. After all, why should I waste my time on datin’ someone if they ain’t even gonna be loyal ta my every desire?&lt;&lt; After having sent that reply, you can bet Leon couldn’t help but grin more at the satisfaction he felt from toying with Raihan’s mind and loyalty. He just wondered exactly how far Raihan would be willing to go with this.</span>
</p>
<p>For a moment there, Raihan felt like his heart just partially broke, not literally of course. But, those words that he believed to be said by Piers really stung. Was Piers really serious about not wanting to waste his time on dating Raihan if Raihan wasn’t entirely loyal to Piers? If Piers wanted him to prove he’s entirely loyal to Piers, he would do essentially anything for Piers; to an extent, of course. He wanted Piers to know just how loyal he was. Even if… Even if he had to suffer through more pain for Piers… He’d do anything at this point for Piers… &gt;&gt;Piers, I promise I’ll always be loyal to you. Isn’t my word about that enough to show I’m loyal to you? Haven’t I already shown enough loyalty to you? I’ve already carved your name into my arm, deleted all but one of my social medias, and quit my job for you. What more could you possibly want me to do for you to convince you that I’m loyal to you? Look, I love you Piers. I love you with all my fucking heart. I want to be able to live happily with you for the rest of our lives. It’s always been a dream of mine to be able to live with you for the rest of our lives. Please, Piers… Please trust me when I say I’ll always be loyal to you…&lt;&lt; Raihan wanted nothing more than to be happy with Piers. He knew their relationship was rocky as it is and he was trying his best to repair their relationship as much as he possibly could. He didn’t want the relationship to fall apart more than it already has at this point. He was so afraid of losing Piers, he was desperate at this point. Desperate to convince Piers to stay with him.</p>
<p>
  <span>Seeing how desperate Raihan was at this point honestly brought a smile to Leon’s face. Raihan kept falling for every little trick that Leon pulled on him, or so it seemed. Such a shame that Raihan is so gullible when it comes to proving his loyalty to Piers. But how would Leon screw around with Raihan further? How could he truly test the extent of Raihan’s loyalty? Leon had plenty of ideas. &gt;&gt;Yer still not fully convincin’ me, Raihan. If ya really expect me ta believe yer 100% loyal ta me, yer gonna need ta show me more proof. There are still things keepin’ ya away from me, y’know? Such as yer team. Yer always out trainin’ yer team constantly. Ya spend hours wit’ ‘em yet, ya spend little time wit’ me. They’re a waste of yer time, Raihan. Ya don’t need yer Pokémon anymore now that yer no longer a Gym Leader.  An’ don’t even consider goin’ back ta bein’ a Gym Leader if ya expect ta stay wit’ me. If ya even </span>
  <span class="u">
    <b>
      <em>dare</em>
    </b>
  </span>
  <span> ta consider takin’ yer old job back, I will dump yer sorry ass an’ cut off all contact wit’ ya, do ya fuckin’ understand me? Now listen ‘ere, Raihan. I’m still pissy ‘bout everythin’ ya’ve done in this relationship. It’s fallin’ apart an’ ya know that all too damn well. If ya really want to fuckin’ save this relationship, yer gonna do everythin’ I say. Do ya fuckin’ understand me?!&lt;&lt; Leon then sent the text, knowing it was bound to make Raihan even more desperate if it seemed like Piers was getting mad at Raihan again. He then sent one more text. &gt;&gt;Don’t even bother showin’ yer damn face ‘ere in Spikemuth again till ya have done everythin’ I’ve told ya ta do. I don’t care how it is ya get rid o’ yer team, just get rid o’ them. Whether ya abandon ‘em somewhere or set them free in the wild area, the choice is yers. Just get rid o’ ‘em. </span>
  <span class="u">
    <b>
      <em>Now</em>
    </b>
  </span>
  <span>.&lt;&lt; And now, all Leon had to do was wait to see Raihan’s response. If things go the way Leon planned, then it should be much more easier to manipulate Raihan from now on.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Raihan completely froze when he saw those messages. Get rid of his team?... The team that had helped him through so many difficult times in his life?... Why… Why would Piers want him to get rid of the team that Raihan cared so dearly about?... He had raised his team from eggs and had had this team ever since he first became a trainer… He couldn’t bear the thought of getting rid of his team. Yet, Piers said they had to go if Raihan wanted to stay with Piers. Tears pricked the corners of Raihan’s eyes as he sat there, debating as to whether or not he could even make himself go through with that. His hands trembled badly as he typed a reply to whom he believed to be Piers. &gt;&gt;I-Isn’t that taking things too far, P-Piers?... I-I raised my team from eggs… T-They wouldn’t know how to survive on their own if I r-released t-them…&lt;&lt; As much as Raihan tried to prevent himself from crying, the tears that were in the corners of his eyes began to fall, silently dripping down his cheeks as he sat there. He really didn’t think he could bring himself to release his team into the wild area. How would they handle not being able to get their nightly goodnight hugs or goodnight cuddles? How would they handle not getting anymore attention from Raihan? Raihan knew his team would be devastated if he gave them up, so, if it were possible, he wanted to avoid giving them up.</span>
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  <span>Leon of course, was a little surprised yet rather upset that Raihan was hesitant on having to give his team up. After all, if Raihan kept his team, that would only give Raihan more distractions that would keep Raihan away from </span>
  <strike>
    <span>Leon</span>
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  <span> Piers. Leon huffed a bit in annoyance as he began texting a reply, unaware that Marnie was spying on him and watching everything he was texting Raihan. Or so, he made it seem like he didn’t notice that she was spying on him. Oh, he knew very well that she was spying on him. And before he could fully text a reply, he grinned softly without looking behind himself to look at her. “You know, </span>
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    <em>foolish child</em>
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  <span>, you should know better than to spy on adults when they’re having a conversation with someone. After all, it’s incredibly rude to spy on someone whom is having a conversation. Didn’t your brother ever teach you any manners? Or are you just a spoiled rotten child that gets everything they want whenever they want it? In any case, you should know to </span>
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    <em>not</em>
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  <span> spy on others. This is a very important conversation after all. And it is none of your concern about what goes on in this conversation between me and a dear friend of mine. Now go back to the guest room you’ve been staying in. I will speak more to you about this </span>
  <b>
    <em>later</em>
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  <span>.” Leon was not in a particular mood to deal with Marnie right now. He knew he was ‘supposed’ to be taking care of her, though, he could honestly care less about her. She only would get in his way anyways. And if she ever did get in his way too much, well, let’s just say it’ll be one more person to be brought to the hospital because of an ‘accident’; if the ‘accident’ turned out to be non-fatal, that is.</span>
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  <span>After having had Marnie leave the room, he went back to typing his reply to Raihan. &gt;&gt;Raihan, I ain’t takin’ things too far an’ ya know that very well. Listen ‘ere now. If I was takin’ things too far, I would have stopped by now. But, I ain’t takin’ things too far. This is fer what’s best fer ya. This is what’s best fer </span>
  <b>
    <em>us</em>
  </b>
  <span>. Now Raihan, I love ya dearly an’ all, but, please, just trust me on this one, a’ight? Now o’ course, there are still other things I want ya ta do as well ta prove yer loyalty. But, do ya think ya could set yer team free fer me, Raihan?...&lt;&lt; While Leon loved to make Raihan desperate to stay with Piers by making it seem like Piers was getting pissy towards Raihan, he also </span>
  <b>
    <em>loved</em>
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  <span> to guilt trip Raihan. And oh, you can bet he’ll be guilt tripping Raihan. Perhaps he would with his next message, perhaps he wouldn’t. He wasn’t too sure yet. He wanted to see how this played out first. And of course, Raihan was still incredibly hesitant about releasing his team. Those pokemon were practically like children to him. He didn’t want to lose them. He’s protected them with his life and he didn’t want to just suddenly give them up. But, what’s the worst that could happen if Raihan refused to give up his team? He wiped his tears away a bit, replying to the text now. &gt;&gt;C-Can I please keep my team, P-Piers?... T-They’re practically like kids to me… I-I don’t want to lose them…&lt;&lt; He was really hoping that Piers would allow him to keep his Pokémon. </span>
</p><p>Now of course, Leon was starting to get irritated with Raihan. He only had so much patience after all. &gt;&gt;Look, do ya fuckin’ love me or not? ‘Cuz it’s startin’ ta seem like ya don’t love me if ya won’t even listen ta the tasks I give ya. I’m not even askin’ fer much from ya. Just do the damn tasks fer me, a’ight? An’ after ya let yer team go, I need ya ta do me a favor an’ don’t leave yer house fer a few days. Don’t answer the door fer anyone. Don’t answer calls from anyone. Don’t. Talk. Ta. Anyone. Got it? An’ don’t go on yer phone either fer a few days. I love ya, Raihan. Now be a good boy an’ do as yer told.&lt;&lt; Now of course, Raihan found that to be rather odd. Why was Piers having him cut off contact from everyone for a few days? Was Piers up to something? Was Piers ok? Was Piers fearful for Raihan’s safety? Raihan didn’t know. Though, he decided to express his concern to Piers and tried to call Piers through the app, only for ‘Piers’ to decline the call. Leon then texted Raihan once more. &gt;&gt;My throat still hurts too much ta talk, dumbass. Plus, ya know damn well that I prefer textin’ over talkin’ on the phone. It’s less awkward.&lt;&lt; Had Piers not recently been in the hospital recently, Raihan would have thought this to be suspicious. But he knew Piers had reason to have a sore throat. He however, was nonetheless worried about Piers. He simply texted back one more time. &gt;&gt;Sorry for calling then, my dear rockstar. I love you and I always will, alright? Get some rest. You need all the rest you can get, my dear.&lt;&lt; Raihan then just turned his phone off for now, deciding to take a nap. Though, Leon decided to reply once more whilst smirking a bit. &gt;&gt;It’s a’ight, Raihan. An’ I love ya as well. I promise this’ll all be worth it in the end, Raihan. I promise we’ll get ta be happy together one day. An’ I promise ya won’t ever regret these tasks. They’ll all be worth it in the end.&lt;&lt; And after having sent that last text, Leon put his phone in his pocket, deciding to relax for a bit.</p>
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